Automatic retrieving-trolley.



S. E. MCFARLAND.

AUTOMATIC RETRIEVING TROLLEY.

APPLICATON FILED JUNE 1912.

1915 "LML COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH col. WASHINGTON. n. c.

maman.

AUTQIVIATIC RETRIEVING-TROLLEY.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known .that I, SAMUEL EAnL MoFAR- LAND, a citizen ofthe United States, residing `at Long Beach, in the county vof Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Automatic Retrieving-Trolley, of which vthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of elec tric trolleys adaptedto automatically drop to lower the trolley wheel when such wheel is lnot restrained by the trolley wire,y and which, by a down pull on the trolley rope, can be restored rto Vposition for returning the trolley wheel to the .trolley wire.

The `object `of this invention is to provide a .device of this kind having few parts and being' of cheap and simple construction; that can be easily installed; that is simple and certain in operation and that can be easily adjusted to determine the length of upward movement ofthe trolley wheel after it has escaped from the wire.

The invention may be'carried out in various forms, and various `parts of the device may be variously locate he accompanying drawings illustrate the invention in two of the forms in which it may be embodied.

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in axial section on line x1, Figs. 2 and 8, .of a trolley base with pole and trolley wheel thereon Constructed in accordance with this invention; the operating in solid lines; the tripping position b of the brace beingshown in dotted lines; a depressed position c being shown in dash lines and the restoring position d of the re# setting lever being shown in dot and dash lines. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation from line m2, Fig. l; the lower part of the standard being broken away. Fig. 3 is a like enlarged sectional elevation from line m3, Fig. 1, omitting the retrieving line. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan on line fc4, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a fragmental elevation of the lower portion of another form of trolley constructed in accordance withy this invention. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail of the tripping Specification of Letters Patent. .Appleatonnled June ,1, 1912.

position av being shown' lPatentedOict. l-dallln i .Serial No. 70;,094. d 1

spring and its adjusting screw. Fig. 7 is a. sectional detail of the resetting "knuckle Join `Arrows on the section lines `ot the various viewsindicatethe direction ofsi l`ht.

he trolley comprises a stan ,1;an (oscillating trolley pole which `maybe.connposed of'the socket section 2 and 'pple preper 3 detachably and slidiiigly `seated 'in the socket section, said socket section beinglpiy- ,otally 4mounted on .the standard by. me wnspf .the link l .pivotecl by pin 5 fto V.the...bent cramping clamp bar 6 which ispivotedto the .upper end of the standard 1 by at1-platsverse pin 7 on which ispivoted .thecla'nip clip 8 through which `isscrevaved the screw 9 to press the lower end .ofthe trolley pole proper 3 to act in .connection with link 4 and the clamp bar 6 .toclampthe pole proper to the socl et; also anoscijllating eX- tensible jointed brace comprisinglan .lairxcylinder 10 with closed cap 11, a piston. head 12 .in the cylinder and a piston rod .13 `for said head ;'V the rod extending 4thrmigli,the cap and pivotally connected,at its upperendiby a pin 14, toggle-joint member l5, togglejoint pin 16 and bracket 17, to .the upper end of the socket section 2 ofthetrolley polegthe lower end of said brace beingpivotally connected to the standad ,by ,the lower standard pin 18. The extensiblemernber or rod. 13 of saidbrace is provided with a shoulder 19 and with a spring 20 encircling the piston rod 13 and acting upon lthe cylinder cap 11, thus to yieldingl-y support the trolley pole when the togglejoint formed by the rod` 13 and toggle `joint member 15 is in extended position, said member 15 `being provided with a stop 21 arranged to engage the brace after the `upper bracepivot 14C has passed the dead center and has risen above a straight line drawn from center 1to center of the top and bottom pivots 16 vand 1,8,so that when the brace is set the spring must be slightly lcompressed 'before the .toggle joint Carl be bent t0 release thebla and lower vthe pole. .By thisarrangernent the brace is effectivetosustain the trolley pole without danger of bending theirtoggle joint and releasing the brace, so long as the force of the spring 20 is restrained by contact of the trolley wheel 22 with the trolley wire 23, Vor by any force suflicient to overcome the spring and hold the brace against the kstop 21. An adjustable'tripping spring 211 is fixed tothe toggle-joint member 15 to press upon the piston rod with la tendency tobend the toggle-joint formed by the Y toggle-joint member 15 and the rod. The-iforce ,with which said spring acts may be regulated by the regulating screw`25 fixed to the member 15 Vand extending through a slot in the spring and provided with a'nut 26 to increase .or decrease the tension of the spring. Means are provided' to move the togglejoint membery and the brace into the supporting position shown in solid lines in Fig. A1, in which figure said means consists in a resetting lever`27 pivotallvmounted on the trolley pole by the toppin 16 and bracket 17 and provided with a shoulder 28 to act l,upon the toggle-joint to move it into extended position shown in solid lines.

Said resetting lever.y as shown is provided with an upwardly "extending, arm 29 carrying a *pulley`30 laroundwhich is bent a line 31 fas- -tened by one end at 32 to the upper end of the trolley pole proper and having its other 'end `ledjover` a pulley 33 mounted on the trolley pole, and thence down as a trolley rope Seite be' handled by the conductor or other Aperson wishingto retrieve the trolley. "Yielding means in the form of a spring n mounted on the top pin v16 and thus carl inMFig. 1, when' the trolley wheel against the trolley wire 'ried bythe bracket 17 and the trolley pole7 acts-upon the resetting lever 27 to return it to the resting position shown in solid lines and in the'dot and'dash lines in Fig. 1.

" '1n-*practical operation of the device shown 22 rests 23 the parts will be infthe position shown in solid lines, the compressed 'spring 2O exerting its pressure to 'force lthe trolley pole 3 upward and being lieldi'under compression between the cylinv.wheel jumps der "cap 11 andI piston rod shoulder 19 by reason of the pin 14 being above the dead "center plane of the lower standard pin v18 toggle-joint 1G. When the trolley from the trolley wire and is l'forced upward'by the force vof the spring 20, las dn'dicated bythe dotted position of the .trolley wheel, the consequent sudden up- ,vard movement ofthe trolley pole 3 swings ydofwiiward thetoggle-joint member 15 and 'the'jrod l13,y the inertia ofthe swinging togglejoint member and rod breakingthe toggle'ljoint; and thefrod is retarded by the cylinder, thus allowing the tripping'spring'24 to aid in throwing the toggle-joint off center, thereby more quickly releasing it from its latched position, where upon thel expansive force of the spring 20 is then capable of `pole 3, and thence The operation of continues to turn the toggle-joint member, thus allowing the weight ofthe trolley pole and its parts to lower the parts possibly to the position shownin dash lines, low position the spring 20 will then raise it to a somewhat higher point of rest. Then the spring 2O may be compressed to raise the pole to again cause the trolley wheel to contact with the trolley wire by pulling on the trolley rope`31l to yturn the lever 27 as shown in dot, and dash lines, so that the shoulder 28 will engage the toggle-joint member 15 as shown in dotted lines and turn the toggle-joint member to the latched position shown in solid lines. Then the trolley rope may be paid out, whereupon the spring 35 acts to retract the resetting lever to the position shown in solid lines and the device automatically repeating the foregoing operations 1n case the trolley wheel again jumps from the trolley wire.

In the form shown in Fig. 5 the resetting lever 27 is provided at one end with the arm 29 and pulley 30 through which is rove the line 31 which is then rove through a pulley on the other end of the resetting lever, and thence rove through a pulley 37 fastened at the lower part of the trolley rove through a pulley 38 carried by an arm 39 of the resetting lever, and thence finally to the trolley pole where 1t is made fast in any suitable manner, thus to increase the leverage that may be exerted to reset the toggle-joint member as hereinbefore set forth. rlhe resetting lever 27' is provided intermediately with an offset forming a shoulder 28 corresponding in function to the shoulder 28 of the resetting lever 27.

the form shown in Fig. y5 will be understood from the hereinbefore described operation of the form shown in Fig. 1.

The arm 29 of the resetting lever is prefer.- ably connected to. said leverin the form of a knuckle joint that is stopped at a-right angle when in the resting position as shown in solid and dash lines in Fig. 1, and swings toward a straight extended position as the resetting operation is effected as shown in the dot anddash lines in Fig. 1. The body of saidarm is a channel iron as indicated in Fig. 7, and the end of the lever 27 is square to engage the web of the channel. iron to form the stop and prevent the arm from being drawn toward, a dead center.

The standard is pivoted to the usual support L11 on the top of the ycar 442 by a vertical pin as indicated at 43. All the other pins are horizontal. f

1 claim y 1. A trolley comprising a standard, an oscillating trolley pole mounted on the standard, an oscillating extensible vbrace mounted on the standard, means to autofrom which matically eXtend the brace, retarding. means in opposition to the extending means,a toggle-joint member between the brace and the trolley pole, a `stop to cause the toggle-joint to cooperate with the brace to support the pole in operative position, brace setting means to move the toggle member and brace into pole-supporting position, and yielding means to hold the setting means out of operative position.

2. A trolley comprising a trolley pole, a toggle-joint brace having an eXtensible member connected to the trolley pole, a spring on said member normally tending to extend said member, means operatable by sudden upward movement of the trolley pole to bend the toggle-joint-to allow the trolley pole to swing downward, and a second spring bearing on the toggle-joint to aid in bending it. i

3. A trolley comprising a standard, a trolley pole pivoted to the standard, a jointed brace pivoted at one end to the standard and at the other end to the trolley pole and comprising means to force the trolley pole upward, and means only operatable by sudden upward movement of the trolley pole to bend the brace joint.

t. A trolley comprising a standard, a trolley pole pivoted to the standard, a toggle jointed brace pivoted at one end to the standard, and at its other end to the trolley pole and comprising means to force the trolley pole upward, a stop to prevent bending' of the toggle-joint, means operatable by sudden upward movement of the trolley pole to straighten the toggle joint, and adjustable means tending to bend the toggle joint.

5. The combination with a trolley pole and a compressible spring to force the trolley pole upward, of a brace; a toggle-joint member pivotally connecting the pole and brace; means to prevent bending of the toggle-joint and a tripping spring fixed to the f toggle-joint member and pressing against the brace for the purpose set forth.

6. iIhe combination with a trolley pole and a compressible spring to force the trolley pole upward, of a brace; a toggle-joint member pivotally connecting the pole and brace; means to prevent bending of the toggle-joint, a tripping spring liXed to the toggle-joint member and pressing against the brace; a regulating screw fixed to the togglo-joint member and extending through a slot in the tripping spring and having a nut to change the tension of the tripping spring.

7. A trolley for a car comprising a trolley pole, an air cylinder, means pivotally connecting the pole and cylinder to the car, a piston to work in the cylinder and provided with a shoulder, a spring between the cylinder and shoulder, a toggle-joint member pivotally connecting the piston to the trolley pole, and provided with a stop, a

resetting leverarranged` to operate-the teggle-jointmember to compress the spring, a ,spring to throw the resetting lever outyof operating position, and means to operate lthe resetting lever.

8. A trolley comprising current .conducting means, means to force the current conducting means upward, and piston means directly operatable by movement of the current conducting means to throw said forcing means out of commission.

9. A trolley comprising current conducting means, means to force the current conducting means upward, and suction means directly operatable by movement of the current conducting means to throw said forcing means out of commission.

10. A trolley comprising current conducting means, means to force the current conducting means upward, and fluid pressure means directly operatable by movement of the current conducting means to throw said forcing means out of commission.

l1. A trolley comprising current conducting means, means to force the current conducting means upward, and pressure means directly operatable by movement of the current conducting means to throw said forcing means out of commission.

12. The combination with current conducting means, of means to force the current conducting means upward, and a piston directly operatable by the current conducting means to limit the upward movement of said forcing means.

13. A trolley comprising current conducting means, means to force the current conducting means upward, means to throw said forcing means out of commission, and a piston directly operatable by movement of the current conducting means to operate said throwing means.

14. A trolley comprising standards, current conducting means mounted on the standards, a brace fastened to the current conducting means, means slidably connecting the brace to the standards, and means operating to slide the brace through said connecting means to raise the current conducting means.

15. A trolley comprising standards, current conducting means mounted on the standards, a brace fastened to the current conducting means, means slidably connecting the brace to the standards, means operating to slide the brace, and means to limit the sliding of the brace.

16 A trolley comprising standards, current conducting means mounted on the standards, a brace fastened to the current conducting means, means slidably connecting the brace to the standards, means operating to slide the brace, and means to positively limit the sliding of the brace.

17. A trolley comprising standards, current Conducting means mounted -on the my hand at Los Angeles, California, this standards, a jointed brace fastened to the 25th day of May, 1912.

current conducting means means slidably connecting the brace to the 7standards, means SAMUEL E' MCFARLAND' 5 operating to slide the brace, and resilient ln presence of* fs -means to bend the brace. JAMES R. ToWNsEND,

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set GEORGE H. HILES. n 1 Copies of this patentmaybe obtained forrve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Y Y Y Washington, D. C. 

